10 Exceptional IT Service Catalog Examples
IT departments have many plates to juggle. Anything that can help keep them focused on their primary function of maintaining the technology environment in an organization might be welcomed. An IT Service Catalog can be such a tool.
In this article are examples of IT Service Catalog landing pages and more information about what they are and what you should include in them.
What is an IT Service Catalog?
An IT Service Catalog is a self-service IT portal or landing page, whereby internal users can find anything they are looking for from an organization's IT service portfolio. It is usually the first interaction end users have with an IT department if they have a problem. Also, it is often divided into service categories and can provide a consumer-like experience.
The aim is that users will find the help they need using self-serve tools and solutions, so it needs to be prominent and everyone in an organization should know where to find it. When a self-serve IT portal is easy to find and navigate, that will reduce inbound support tickets and take some of the strain off busy IT teams.
They can provide the following benefits:
- Personalized and relevant Service Offerings
- Improved transparency and communication between IT and business stakeholders
- Streamlined service request problem solving
What Components Do You Need in an Effective IT Service Catalog?
An IT Service Catalog needs to align with the range of IT services offered by an IT help desk. This should always include self-serve options. Ideally, IT Service Catalogs should also align with ITIL 4 best practices. Here are a few of the most important basics you should include in an IT Service Catalog:
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Service Offerings and Options
Service Offerings are the core services that an organization provides to its customers. In ITSM, Service Offerings and Options in a Service Catalog represent the different self-serve and ITSM-supported solutions users can access.
Service Options are customized Service Offerings. They can be available if there are specific ITSM solutions that can be customized for specific customer preferences.
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Service Relationships
Services rarely operate in isolation. For example, a change of password might mean a user has to log out of every device and log-in. It might mean someone needs a secondary layer of security established after they were logged out. IT needs to establish the relationships between services and make this clear (as required) in an ITIL 4 Service Catalog.
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ITSM Service Definitions
Well-defined ITSM Service Definitions align IT services with business goals and enable collaborative decision-making. Service Definitions within the IT Service Catalog make it easy for people looking for help to find what they are looking for. This can be true for both IT support and self-serve.
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Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Service Level Targets (SLTs)
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are a document outlining service expectations between an organization and either an in-house IT team or a third-party, external IT vendor. On the other hand, Service Level Targets (SLTs) are specific, measurable objectives set for different aspects of IT services to ensure they meet the agreed-upon levels of performance and quality.
Now let's look at 10 great IT Service Catalog examples.
10 Examples of IT Service Catalogs
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University New South Wales (UNSW) IT
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has a nice and simple IT Service Catalog portal. It comes complete with an AI bot and ways for students and academics to contact the IT help desk team.
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Stanford University IT
With dozens of IT services that students and academics can access, Stanford University puts all of them within one simple IT portal, with an A to Z and a way to enter support tickets.
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Carnegie Mellon MCS Technology Services
The Mellon College of Science has a comprehensive technology services portal. You can search by category, such as Administrative or Research. They also provide other support links, such as hardware and software support.
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University of Arizona IT
At the University of Arizona, there is a simple and easy-to-navigate IT help desk catalog. In particular, the U of A IT department has made certain services more prominent, such as reporting a problem (via a ticket or calling the team), requesting services, reporting security breaches, and access to self-serve tools.
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MIT Information Systems Technology (IST)
MIT is one of the world's most prestigious academic institutions. Students and academics can use the Information Systems Technology (IST) catalog to access self-serve tools, enter support tickets, and use the knowledge base when they need more information.
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National Institute for Health Center for Information Technology (NIH CIT)
The National Institute for Health Center for Information Technology (NIH CIT) has an easy-to-use IT service desk portal. Users can start with the top-level navigation, asking them to pick where to go based on what they're looking for.
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Ohio State University IT Service Desk
The Ohio State University IT Service Desk is the gateway to all of this university's IT services. People can also access the knowledge base, and system status, log in to their account, and put in a support desk ticket.
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Cornell University IT Portal
Cornell University's IT portal, known as IT @ Cornell, has login access to a wide range of IT services for everyone from students to guests and third-party IT professionals. Users can access everything they need, create a support ticket, or call Cornell's ITSM help desk, and keep up-to-date with the latest Cornell IT news via blogs published by the IT help desk team.
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Berkeley Information Technology Services Catalog
Berkeley's Information Technology Service Catalog gives an alphabetical list of all services available. It provides search, including granularity by category or person eligility, such as faculty only. Categories are also listed for quick convenience.
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University of Miami Information Technology
The self-service Information Technology page at the University of Miami is a complete and visually-appealing dashboard into all of the services available. From news and announcements, to scam alerts, to the various IT services available, this portal has all things covered for their students and faculty.
Key Takeaways of IT Service Catalogs
IT Service Catalogs are very helpful when it comes to making it easy for people within organizations to find the self-serve IT tools and solutions they are looking for. In this post we have provided 10 examples from organizations that have done well in creating user-friendly IT Service Catalogs.
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